Monie Love

Simone Johnson[1] (born 2 July 1970),[1] better known by her stage name Monie Love, is a British rapper, actress and radio personality from London. Best known for her singles during the late–1980s through the 1990s, Monie Love currently serves as a radio personality for urban adult contemporary station KISS 104.1 WALR-FM in Atlanta, Georgia. Love is a two-time Grammy Award nominee, making her the first British female hip hop artist to hold that distinction.[2]

Monie Love
Birth nameSimone Johnson[1]
Also known as
  • Monie Love
  • Simone Wilson
Born (1970-07-02) 2 July 1970[1]
Battersea, London, England
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Rapper
  • actress
Years active1987–present
Labels
Associated acts
Websitetwitter.com/DaRealMonieLove

Career

Music

Love's debut album, Down to Earth was released on 6 November 1990, spawned the singles "Monie in the Middle" (a track dealing with a woman's right to determine what she wants out of a relationship) and "It's a Shame (My Sister)" (which sampled the (Detroit) Spinners' "It's a Shame", written for the band by Stevie Wonder) and featured house-music vocalist and then-labelmate Ultra Naté. The album reached No. 26 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[3] Love also appears on the song titled "United" from Inner City's third album, Praise.

Love was featured on the LA Reid & Babyface remix of Whitney Houston's R&B hit "My Name Is Not Susan" in 1991, and appeared in the music video alongside Houston. Love's 1992 single "Full-Term Love", from the Class Act movie soundtrack, reached No. 7 on the Hot Hip-Hop Singles chart.[4] Love collaborated with Marley Marl on her second album, In a Word or 2 (1993), which featured the Prince-produced single "Born To B.R.E.E.D." (which reached No. 1 on the Hot Dance Music chart and No. 7 on the Hot Rap Singles chart), as well as a re-release of "Full-Term Love".[4] The same year, Prince asked her to write lyrics for a few songs on a side-project, Carmen Electra's eponymous album, Carmen Electra. Love's last release as lead artist was the single "Slice of da Pie" in 2000. In 2013, she was featured on the track "Sometimes" by Ras Kass, from his album Barmageddon.

Radio

From 2004 until the week of 11 December 2006, Love was the morning drive host on Philadelphia's WPHI-FM 100.3. 22 December 2006 edition of the Philadelphia Daily News confirmed that Love left WPHI-FM on amicable terms after contract negotiations stalled.[5] Love's departure from WPHI followed soon after her December 2006 interview with Young Jeezy, where the two argued over whether hip hop is dead.[6] Love is also an official MySpace.com DJ, according to her Myspace page. Love resides in Indianapolis, Indiana and is a single mother to four children.[7] She has a radio show on XM Satellite Radio called Ladies First Radio with Monie Love. It airs Thursdays 6 PM ET and Sundays 8 PM ET. In 2015, Love became a DJ on Philadelphia's Boom 107.9, hosting a morning show from 6 am to 10 am. In 2016, Love co-hosted with Ed Lover on the Ed Lover Morning Show for "Boom 92" KROI in Houston, Texas. In May 2019, she began hosting afternoons at "KISS 104.1" WALR in Atlanta.[8]

Personal life

Born in England, Love moved to the United States; settling in Philadelphia in 1987. Love has four children; Charlena (born 1991), Caleigh (born 1997), Nekhi (born 2003) and Laci (born 2008).[9][10] Love is the biological sister of English musician Dave Angel.

Discography

Albums

Title Album details Chart positions
US [11] US
R&B
/HH
[12]
AUT [13] SWI [14] UK [15]
Down to Earth 109 26 29 32 30
In a Word or 2 75
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Singles

Year Single Peak positions Album
US Hot 100
[16]
US Dance
[17]
US R&B
[18]
US Rap
[19]
AUS
[20]
AUT BEL
(FLA)
FRA GER
[21]
IRE NED NZ SWI UK [22]
1988 "I Can Do This" 1837 Down to Earth
1989 "Grandpa's Party" 9323513316
1990 "Monie in the Middle" 728146
"It's a Shame (My Sister)"
(featuring True Image)
262819012245011917612
"Down 2 Earth" 753033291531
1991 "Ring My Bell"
(featuring Adeva)
3544251513820
"Work It Out" (US only) Boyz n the Hood OST
1992 "Full Term Love" 964775834 In a Word or 2
1993 "Born 2 B.R.E.E.D." 89156798213518
"In a Word or 2" 33
"Never Give Up" 41
2000 "Slice of da Pie" 29 Non-album single
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.
  • "Ladies First" (Queen Latifah featuring Monie Love)
  • "My Name Is Not Susan" (Whitney Houston featuring Monie Love) – My Name Is Not Susan (Power Radio Mix With Rap)

References

  1. Room, Adrian (10 January 2014). Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins, 5th ed. McFarland. p. 296. ISBN 9780786457632 via Google Books.
  2. Henderson, Alex. "Down To Earth Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 November 2006.
  3. Henderson, Alex. "In A Word Or 2 Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 November 2006.
  4. Conrad, Laurie T. (22 December 2006). "Tattle: No mo' Monie". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved 25 December 2006.
  5. Bolden, Janee (22 December 2006). "Monie Love Gets None, Officially Off The Air in Philly". SOHH.com. Archived from the original on 1 January 2007. Retrieved 29 May 2007.
  6. Osorio, Kim (13 August 2014). "Monie Love Still in the Middle...Of Motherhood". Madamenoire.com. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  7. Ho, Rodney. "Hip-hop legend Monie Love takes over Kiss 104.1 afternoon slot". Ajc.com. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  8. "Ladies First: Monie Love Discusses Being A Mother In Hip-Hop (Audio)". Ambrosiaforheads.com. 12 May 2019.
  9. "Hip Hop Moms". Essence.com. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  10. "Monie Love Chart History". Billboard 200. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  11. "Monie Love Chart History". Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  12. "Monie Love in Ö3 Austria Top 40". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  13. "Monie Love in Swiss Hitparade". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  14. "Monie Love in UK Albums Chart". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  15. "MC Lyte - US Hot 100". billboard.com. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  16. "Monie Love – US Dance Club Songs Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  17. "Monie Love – US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  18. "MC Lyte - US Hot Rap Songs". billboard.com. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  19. Australian (ARIA Chart) peaks:
  20. "Monie Love – German Chart". charts.de. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  21. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 357. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
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